Chapter 564: 517 Before the Spirit

Xing Cang's words, backed by the momentum of the crowd and the prestige of Changfa, pressed down like Mount Tai.

Tang Zhao thought: So this is where you were waiting for me? Setting up this formation, are you trying to force the YoungMaster's faction of Sword Guests out to fight and die? So you don't have to launch another great purge?

Tang Zhao had thought they would beat drums to gather the generals and use military law to kill people.

However, this approach of Xing Cang's was not wrong either.

Sword Fighting is inherently an extremely dangerous affair; according to the traditions of Wangliang Mountain, the loser is almost certainly doomed to die. If it were changed to a ring-style bloody battle, the attrition rate would be even higher, because the winner would also likely die. In the end, it would be good if one or two people from both sides survived.

In other words, within half a month at most, there would be an opportunity to clear out all the Sword Guests one finds displeasing without getting blood on one's own hands. If this isn't a heaven-sent opportunity, what is? Since there is a legitimate chance, it is not worth taking the risk to do it oneself.

Tang Zhao was going to go up anyway, so he could go along with it, but he could not let his momentum be too weak, so he said: "Of course. I, Xing Qi, am valued by the Master and have become the Deputy Grand Steward; how can I not lead the charge? How can I shrink back? Not just me, but any Sword Guest of Changfa Manor, who would shrink back? Xing Wu, would you?"

He asked Xing Wu with his mouth, but his eyes were on Xing Cang; the meaning was obvious: I am the Deputy Grand Steward and I am leading the charge; you are the primary one, are you going to charge?

Xing Wu froze for a moment, opened his mouth, and did not know whether to answer.

Xing Cang immediately nodded and said: "It is good that you have this realization. You are right, all the Sword Guests of Changfa Manor must charge. You—" he pointed at Xing Wu first, then at Xing Jiu, "although not as valued as Old Seven, if the Master needs it, you must also be prepared to die! Winning a Sword Fight is certainly a merit, but even if you lose, it is glorious; how honorable it is to return to the embrace of Lord Wangliang a day early?"

Xing Wu and Xing Jiu murmured in agreement. Xing Wu thought: You two are at odds, why keep dragging me into it?

Xing Cang said: "Of course, I am not saying I want you to rush to your deaths. On the contrary, everyone should strive to survive, because you must win, you must win victory for the Master! It would be best if not one of you dies, and one person defeats the eight on the other side! But with you looking like this, can you win?"

He suddenly said in a loud voice: "Xing Wu! You haven't fought with anyone for years, and the day before yesterday, when you suddenly fought, you were ambushed as soon as you started and nearly died; it was only by relying on others to save you that you luckily escaped, wasn't it? Can you still go up to the stage to Sword Fight like this? I fear you will be hacked to death in three moves or two; your own death is a small matter, but you will also delay the Master's great cause!"

When these words were spoken, not only did Xing Wu lose color, but even Tang Zhao secretly thought: Good fellow! You really can say that! Wasn't his near-death experience from the ambush last time caused by people you sent? How can you still point at his nose and scold him when he didn't die and you are angry?

And... this old fellow Xing Cang knows quite clearly; he knows Xing Wu encountered danger first and was later saved by someone. I just don't know if he deduced it from clues or if he has some channel of information?

Xing Cang spoke incessantly, saying: "Since the Master wants to fight, we must strive for victory! Sword Fighting allows for no mistakes; it concerns the future of the Master and our manor. It would be best to have true experts to assist. But time is tight; besides you useless ones, where is there any other choice? What should be done? As the saying goes, sharpening the spear before the battle makes it shine even if it isn't sharp. Before the Sword Fight, everyone should have a collective training, practice well, just like the young Disciples! Improving even a little is something; every bit of hope counts!"

Tang Zhao frowned slightly, thinking: Could it be that he wants to...

Xing Cang said: "Since we are going to practice, let's start today. You will go into seclusion within the manor! This place is far from vanity, few people and quiet; practicing sword here for a while with peace of mind to improve your skills is better than anything. I will personally go and tell the Master to bring everyone who is to Sword Fight up the mountain, and everyone will train here together, sparring and improving together. What is the use of eating and drinking at banquets down the mountain? Is it to eat something good before hitting the road?"

He pointed to the pitch-black gate and said: "You go in first and practice with peace of mind!"

So that's how it is!

Tang Zhao thought: He is not just driving people to their deaths; he is also putting a portion of them under house arrest.

None of the people Tang Zhao came with are his own; they are all original Sword Guests of Changfa Manor. Although they intend to lean toward the new Manor Master, they have not been completely accepted yet and can only be considered half-insiders, which is just right for Xing Cang.

After all, Xing Wu and the others are afraid of Xing Cang in their bones. In a place far from the Master, with Xing Cang close at hand, they have no way to resist; if he says lock them up, they are locked up, and if he says kill them, they can probably only sit and wait for death.

Even Xing Qi should be the same. If Tang Zhao were not here, and the real Xing Qi had come, once trapped in this situation, all ambition would be useless, and he could only be at the mercy of Xing Cang.

However, how exactly does he intend to manipulate the few Sword Guests, including Xing Qi? Kill them all?

Or brainwash and control them?

Or are there more schemes?

Tang Zhao pondered, looked at the open manor gate, and strode inside.

Since he had come, he was going to enter the manor anyway.

No matter what poisonous snakes or fierce beasts were in the manor, he had to take a look. As a Sword Hero with a mission, being scared away by a few words from the enemy in front of the enemy's nest would be too absurd.

This team moved again and marched into the manor in a grand manner.

After entering the front hall, the Sword Slaves and servants went to settle the horses and carriages on their own, and Xing Cang led Xing Qi and the others to the front of the main hall.

Xing Cang said: "Let us go and pay respects to the old Master first. Report the Master's affairs to him; his spirit in heaven will know that the Master has great ambitions and the servants are all brave, and he will smile in the nine springs."

Tang Zhao then remembered and secretly thought: That's right, the old Manor Master has been dead for half a year, and he is still parked at home without a grave!

His "good son" only cared about crying at the banquet and didn't even go up the mountain to look at him once. By now, he must have turned into bones, right?

The old Manor Master's spirit tablet was set up in the main hall. Several people entered from the back, and before they could brew emotions to have a good cry, they suddenly froze together.

From Xing Cang on down, including Tang Zhao, everyone was dumbfounded and at a loss.

In the Spirit Hall, in front of the coffin, there were actually two strange figures.

One of them was less than three feet tall, with a face like a fox, a body like a bear, fat and short-legged, and covered in fur; it was exactly a raccoon dog. It stood upright, as if it were human.

The other was even more exaggerated; it was actually a curved-neck pipa. Although it was a pipa, at a glance it looked different from an ordinary pipa; the two tuning pegs on its head were specially shaped, looking like a pair of eyes sticking out, black and white, appearing full of spirit, looking like a living pipa spirit.

The rest of the people were confused, but only Tang Zhao had a clue and guessed their identities, yet he had a massive headache, secretly thinking: How did it chase me here? Isn't this like an owl entering a house?

After a moment of silence, Xing Cang and the others were at a loss, and the other side did not make a sound, so Tang Zhao had to come out and respectfully said: "So it is the Abyss Envoy who has arrived; we servants failed to welcome you in time, please forgive us!"

As soon as he said this, the others were fine, but Xing Cang and the others were even more confused and couldn't react for a while.

Abyss Envoy... is it that Abyss Envoy?

Is it that kind of high-and-mighty Abyss Envoy that even a First Rank Manor has to worship?

Why did the Abyss Envoy suddenly appear in the Spirit Hall?

And... is the Abyss Envoy this kind of... monster?

It is not that their knowledge is shallow; it is really that the level of Changfa Manor is what it is. Even though Xing Cang has lived long enough to have a certain reputation in the circle of Manor Lords, and can be called the Supreme Emperor of a manor, Changfa Manor itself is only mixing in the Third Tier; from the perspective of Wangliang Mountain, it hasn't even touched the threshold of being decent, let alone entering the hall.

Even First and Second-tier Manor Lords can only worship their own Abyss Envoys, and at most occasionally see the shadow of other Abyss Envoys; Xing Cang and the others have never even seen a shadow, having only heard some half-true and half-false legends.

They only knew that the Abyss Envoy... overlooks all living beings on Wangliang Mountain!

In this day and age when Lord Wangliang almost never descends or speaks, the status of the Abyss Envoy is even more lofty; the Abyss Envoy's instructions are the instructions of Lord Wangliang, and the Abyss Envoy's will is the will of Lord Wangliang. The Abyss Envoy is like a divine messenger, and all the subjects of Wangliang Mountain must prostrate and worship!

In the manor, the Manor Lord is the master, Xing Cang is the Grand Steward, and other Sword Guests and Sword Slaves are slaves. On Wangliang Mountain, Wangliang is the master, the Abyss Envoys are the Grand Stewards and deacons, and the Manor Lords are the slaves.

That Sword Slave... a Sword Slave is dust on Wangliang Mountain, not even counting as an ant, with no meaning of existence.

Now that these dust and ants have actually seen the legendary Abyss Envoy, and not the shadow usually seen, but the true body with the Shadow dispersed, how can one not be filled with fear and trepidation?

Compared to this, what raccoon dog or pipa is not a matter. Since the Abyss Envoy is in this appearance, it can be seen that this appearance is naturally noble.

Except for Tang Zhao, everyone else was like a clay sculpture or a wooden puppet. Xing Cang barely bowed and said: "Welcome, Abyss Envoy. Our... humble manor is honored by your presence." He couldn't say anything for a moment. It was really because the Abyss Envoy's status was too high and the arrival too abrupt, leaving him with nothing to say, not even daring to ask the purpose of the visit.

Actually, Tang Zhao really wanted to see him say a few more words; this raccoon dog has a bad temper and is a guy who will suddenly explode and detonate people's psychological shadows. Tang Zhao didn't fall for this trick, but for Xing Cang, it was almost certain death.

Unfortunately, the raccoon dog didn't care about Xing Cang's words, but instead just stared at Tang Zhao, its furry face actually revealing a look of hesitation.

It just kept looking without saying a word, and the scene fell into an awkward silence.

At this moment, a sound of plucking strings came from the air, like tearing silk and breaking jade, followed by the sound turning thin, which was the sound of a pipa.

This pipa was not opening a mouth to speak from anywhere, but rather simulating a human voice through the sound of its strings, clearly and distinctly: "Heart Shadow. Is it him?"

He, or rather Heart Shadow, spoke up at this moment: "It doesn't seem like it."

The sound of the pipa's strings rose slightly: "Found the wrong person?"

He shook his head and said: "Not necessarily. I know him; I met him once on Yinglang Bridge. I actually quite like him."

Xing Cang glanced at Tang Zhao in disbelief: He had actually met an Abyss Envoy on Yinglang Bridge and even gained the Abyss Envoy's favor? What kind of luck was this? Why hadn't he mentioned it?

In an instant, he recalled Tang Zhao asking Tu Fei about the Abyss Envoy, and Xing Cang felt that something was amiss; this kid Xing Qi had hidden this ace up his sleeve, which could be called calculated. The plan he had been plotting for a long time seemed about to go awry.

Then he heard He continue: "But I didn't pay him any special attention; I've seen plenty of people like him. It seems I shouldn't have made a trip to Changfa Manor for his sake, right?"

The pipa went *ding-ding-dong-dong*, like large and small pearls falling onto a Jade Plate: "You are truly strange. You suddenly said you wanted to come to Changfa Manor, and when I Ask you the reason, you say you don't know. Now that we've come, you still haven't remembered, which shows it's nothing important. Let's go back."

That He clapped his two paws together and said: "Forget it, I won't think about it. Since we're already here, it's rare to come down to the Third Tier, let's just have some fun."